The Catcher's Mask

May 1, 1998
Gr 2-4-While this brief book is easy to read, children will have to know a lot about baseball to understand and follow the game action, especially the lingo (e.g., "sacrifice bunt," "once around the horn," "next raps," "fanned," "snagged the throw"), which is not explained or easily discerned from context. The many characters (most with rather old-fashioned nicknames) may also lead to some confusion. Young Rudy blames all of his baseball woes on the team-owned catcher's mask so he buys a "new" mask and baseball book at a neighbor's yard sale. Information in the book and the "Y.B." on the mask lead him to believe that it once belonged to Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra and that it will make him play like a pro, too. Although this fills the bill as an easy-reading sports-action book, the plot is only fair and the ending a little too pat. Buy it only if you have a demand for more about the Peach Street Mudders.-Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI

October 1, 1998
Gr. 2^-4. This ninth offering in the Peach Street Mudders series, following "Stranger in Right Field" (1997), focuses on catcher Rudy Calhoun, who feels his recent slump is a result of using a borrowed catcher's mask. He can't afford to buy a new one, but when he purchases a used mask at a yard sale, his game begins to turn around. Rudy feels the transformation has something to do with the initials Y. B.--Yogi Berra?--engraved on the front, though his coach has a more plausible explanation. Christopher concentrates more on play-by-play descriptions of Rudy's games than on character development or plot, but the series' fans probably won't mind. Bert Dodson's black-and-white illustrations and the short chapters add to the appeal for beginning chapter-book readers. ((Reviewed October 1, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)